I have a small pond, 80 gallons, but it's only 17 inches deep at the deepest point (not 24 as you reccomend). It is dug into the ground and lined with pond liner. Can I leave my pump and fountian running all winter or will the pond freeze and ruin the pump. I would like to keep 2 fish in the pond, do they need a pond heater to sruvive the winter? I live just North of Minneapolis.

You may be able to overwinter you fish inside of your pond, even though it is only 17 inches. You will need a floating deicer heater to keep a hole in the ice to allow toxic gases to escape from the pond. I have been on Pond tours and have talked to pond owners in the Twin Cities who said they have success in 18 inches of water in the winter. Honestly I have never tried it at this depth and all of my customers ponds are over at least 2 feet deep.

It sounds like you have a light fish load in your pond. If your fish are goldfish and not koi, they will do better in this shallow environment. Goldfish are tough!

I would not leave your pump and fountain running in the winter. I like to run only aerators or deicers in my ponds in the winter. Something like this -

You are a bit north of where I am at, but last winter the thickest ice I had on backyard garden ponds was 8 inches.

If you have pictures of your pond and set up feel free to email them to me at jake@aquaeden.com. That way I can look at your system a little more in depth and give you some suggestions.

Hope you are enjoying the few dry days we have finally recieved - its good pond care weather.

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